A strong cold front moved through during the 8th with north winds pushing tides down along the coast of Jefferson County on the 9th and 10th.
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The episode as NWS LCH wrote it up.
A strong cold front moved through during the 8th with north winds pushing tides down along the coast of Jefferson County on the 9th and 10th.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 9, 5:36 AM CST, 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Lake Charles LA
536 AM CST Tue Jan 9 2024
...New AVIATION...
.SYNOPSIS...
Issued at 407 AM CST Tue Jan 9 2024
KLCH and KPOE radars show scattered showers and a few embedded
thunderstorms diminishing as they gradually shift east across the
area. A few embedded cores with stronger updrafts have been
noted, and these have produced brief instances of graupel in
isolated locations. Overall rainfall rates remain fairly light and
flood problems in the Flood Watch area have been minimal, so have
opted to cancel the Watch.
Otherwise, a look at the latest UA analysis and WV imagery shows
the unusually deep low spinning over OK. Core 500 mb heights in
the system are near 5260 m, which is near minimum values for
this portion of the country in January. Its attendant surface low
is currently centered over MO, with central pressures as low as
993-994 mb. This strong and dynamic system has been responsible
for widespread strong winds across the region, as well as severe
weather along the NW Gulf states into the SE US.
Locally, the first of two frontal boundaries has moved east of the
area, and is currently located across SE LA. This boundary is
preceded by a large squall line. A secondary front is now
approaching our western zones. This front will move through the
area over the next few hours, bringing much stronger westerly
winds back across the region today, as well as much cooler
temperatures.
24
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Today through Thursday night)
Issued at 407 AM CST Tue Jan 9 2024
A much drier airmass will move into the region this morning,
scouring out any residual moisture, and moving any lingering
showers east of the lower Atchafalaya Basin. In the wake of the
deep trough, a nearly 70 KT LLJ forming across TX this morning
will translate east into the region. The jet is forecast to weaken
slightly, but speeds will still be around 50 KT as it moves into
the area. Some of these higher speeds will likely mix to the
surface today, resulting in sustained westerly surface winds
between 15 and 25 mph with gusts as high as 45 mph expected. The
Wind Advisory will remain in effect today.
In addition, good cold air advection is anticipated. Even with
moisture and clouds exiting to the east, leaving mostly sunny
skies, temperatures will stay on the cool side, with highs
struggling to reach 50 degrees across the northern zones, while
lower 50s are expected across the southern zones.
Winds will rapidly taper off by early this evening as surface high
pressure builds east over the Gulf of Mexico. While they may not
fully decouple as the center of the high will be south of the
area, they should lighten enough to allow radiational cooling.
Overnight lows are expected to fall into the upper 20s across
portions of interior SE TX into central LA, with lower 30s further
south. A light freeze is expected north of I-10, with 4 to 6 hours
of subfreezing temps possible. The combination of light winds and
residual surface moisture should lead to areas of frost across
much of the area as well.
Temperatures will begin to rebound on Wednesday as the surface
high moves east and winds become southerly. Dry and mild
conditions are expected with highs in the upper 50s to lower 60s.
Clouds will begin to increase by Wednesday night as the next
disturbance starts taking shape west of the area. Warm advection
develops as surface low pressure forms over the plains and this
will keep temperatures between 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the
preceding night.
24
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Friday through Tuesday)
Issued at 407 AM CST Tue Jan 9 2024
The long term portion of the forecast period begins with yet another
period of transition aloft as a zonal flow through the mid-week gets
replaced by a more swrly flow aloft in response to a digging trof
over the wrn CONUS. Meanwhile, a srly low-level flow is progged to
develop behind passing sfc high pressure. Moisture will continue to
steadily increase through the day with forecast soundings indicating
mean RH values around 70 percent and PWAT values to near 1.30 inches
by 12z Friday. After the development of widely scattered showers on
Thursday afternoon with the passage of a warm front/WAA development,
a significant shortwave rounding the base of the trof will approach
the region through Thursday night, spreading good lift across the
area, while also helping spin up/deepen a sfc low over TX. The combo
of all these features is expected to lead to widespread shower
development beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Friday
morning when the shortwave and an associated sfc cold front sweep
through the area. Forecast soundings also show sufficient lapse
rates/CAPE for some storm development along with plenty of wind/low-
level speed shear. As usual, the main issue will be how much
instability will develop. And speaking of the wind, Friday looks
very windy with the approach/deepening of the sfc low significantly
tightening the gradient, along with good CAA...and advisory
conditions look like a good bet at the moment.
Once the trof axis/sfc low/attendant cold front swing through
the forecast area on Friday, precip should gradually end from west
to east with dry weather expected for the rest of the weekend. In
its place will be drier but much cooler conditions as good low-level
CAA develops with an Arctic airmass gradually settling over the
region. Still looking at the possibility of borderline hard freeze
conditions Saturday morning for the usual cold-prone nrn-most
locations, while apparent temps could briefly touch the high teens
across the nrn tier of zones.
An interesting pattern is progged to set up for the end of the
forecast period. The passage of the next disturbance aloft along
with low pressure development/passage over the nrn Gulf could lead
to some shower activity beginning late Sunday night and lingering
through Sunday. Given the lingering cold air in place at the lowest
levels, forecast soundings hint at the potential for some freezing
rain, especially Monday night prior to the departure of the
precipitation. For now, have held off on any non-liquid precip
mentions since we're talking day 7 on the Gulf Coast...but stay
tuned.
25
&&
.AVIATION...
(12Z TAFS)
Issued at 525 AM CST Tue Jan 9 2024
Winds will be the primary aviation concern through the first half
of this TAF period. West to northwest winds are beginning to
filter into the region, with speeds already strengthening at
BPT/LCH/AEX. Speeds remain relatively light (less than 10 KT) at
LFT/ARA but these will be strengthening as well through 14-15Z.
Sustained speeds between 15 and 25 KT with gusts up to 35 KT are
expected from this morning into this afternoon as a strong LLJ
moves through the region. Winds will taper off by late afternoon,
diminishing to less than 10 KT by 03-06Z this evening. Midlevel
clouds are rapidly clearing from west to east at this time, and
expect VFR/SKC to prevail through the period.
24
&&
.MARINE...
Issued at 407 AM CST Tue Jan 9 2024
Strong and gusty west to northwest winds will develop this
morning in the wake of a strong cold front. A strong LLJ passing
through the region and the arrival of a colder airmass will yield
turbulence and mixing over the coastal waters, and frequent wind
gusts of up to 45 knots are expected today. The Gale Warning
remains in effect until this evening. Winds should quickly
diminish as high pressure builds east this evening, with
conditions lowering the Small Craft Advisory levels this evening
then becoming lighter and less rough overnight.
The strong offshore flow will also result in abnormally low tide
levels on coastal lakes, bays and waterways. Tide levels are
expected to fall to between -1.0 and -1.5 feet mean lower low
water early this morning, which could cause navigational problems
on coastal waterways and ship channels.
Onshore flow will develop on Wednesday as the surface high moves
east, then strengthen again Thursday into Friday as another
strong storm system approaches the area. Another round of
hazardous marine conditions is expected by late this week.
24
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AEX 49 28 59 40 / 0 0 0 0
LCH 52 34 59 49 / 0 0 0 0
LFT 53 34 59 48 / 0 0 0 0
BPT 54 35 64 52 / 0 0 0 0
&&
.LCH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
LA...Wind Advisory until 6 PM CST this evening for LAZ027>033-044-045-
055-073-074-141>143-152>154-241>243-252>254.
TX...Wind Advisory until 6 PM CST this evening for TXZ180-201-259>262-
515-516-615-616.
GM...Gale Warning until 6 PM CST this evening for GMZ430-432-435-436-
450-452-455-470-472-475.
Low Water Advisory until noon CST today for GMZ430-432.
Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM to 9 PM CST this evening for
GMZ430-432-435-436.
Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM this evening to midnight CST
tonight for GMZ450-452-455-470-472-475.
&&
SHORT TERM...24
LONG TERM....25
AVIATION...24The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 astronomical low tide. Local standard time, as filed.
The tide fell to one foot below MLLW during multiple tide cycles. The tide fell to a low of -3 feet MLLW at Texas Point.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2024
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1158767.